For Want Of A Nail
by Blank Check Authory
Summary: When Cana and Lucy are left behind when the Tenrou team disappears, they and the rest of the guild are plunged into grief and uncertainty. But as the political situation in Ishgar grows more complicated, Fairy Tail will have to pull together- with or without their core members- if they hope to survive. Luckily, they do seem to have some star power left... Various ships.
1. For Want of a Nail (Or a Bottle)

**Authors' Notes-** This project has been a long time coming. The co-authors who run this account have been plotting it for going on five months, and it's finally time for us to dive in and actually write it. It started out as our love letter to Lucy Heartfilia and evolved into a much grander work. This is our alternate Tenrou timeline, and it's going to be, if nothing else, a _long_ story. We won't say too much right off the bat, because we don't want to give too much of the game away before we've even begun, but we hope that you'll enjoy the journey with us.

Before we jump in, though, we'd like to thank our beta team: Howlingmoonrise, Cthulhu With A Fez, and Professor Maka, who are absolute feedback angels. Our cover art was drawn by Scarl, one half of the writing team for this account.

And with that being said... on with the show!

* * *

 _For want of a nail, the shoe was lost  
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost  
For want of a horse, the rider was lost  
For want of a rider, the message was lost  
For want of a message, the battle was lost  
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost  
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: For Want Of A Nail... Or In This Case, A Bottle**

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, there were occasional evenings when the Fairy Tail guild hall actually resembled the place of business it was supposed to be, rather than the riot scene it became with some regularity. Not often, to be fair, but on the nights when Natsu was out of town on a job, and neither Gray nor Elfman had had too much to drink, and Gajeel wasn't in a performative mood, and no one had provoked Erza, and Wan and Joey weren't sitting too close to each other, and…

Well, quiet nights were few and far between.

Mirajane, for her part, liked the quiet nights. If forced to choose, she preferred the rowdy evenings, because they were familiar and comforting in an odd, noisy way. But the quiet nights were a blessing on evenings when she'd been on her feet too long and was running out of patience.

Tonight was one of those nights when the guild was taking mercy on her, and it was obvious why. Natsu had raced out of the hall earlier in the day to go and train, almost as soon as discussion of partnerships for the S-class exam had wrapped up. Evergreen had dragged Elfman out as well, though whether it was to acclimate to each others' magic as she claimed or because she simply wanted to avoid her teammates (with whom she was not especially pleased at the moment), Mirajane wasn't entirely certain. In fact, it seemed that all of the exam candidates had abandoned the guild hall for the evening.

All but one, that is.

Cana sat at the end of the bar, staring morosely into her drink. It wasn't really surprising to see her in a mood at this time of year. Ever since her first S-class trial, when she had lost to Laxus so badly, the first half of December had seen Cana out of sorts for going on half a decade now. Her repeated failures weighed so heavily on her. It worried Mira, but she was accustomed to pushing that particular worry aside.

In years past, Mira had tried to reassure Cana that it wasn't such a big deal, that there was no shame in losing to people like Erza— for after all, hadn't Erza put her to the ground a few times when they were childhood rivals?— that being S-Class wasn't really all it was cracked up to be anyway. But Cana had dismissed it all, refused to even listen, and that… well, that hurt. That Cana wouldn't even take _her_ word for it was a bitter pill to swallow, and so Mirajane had given up.

That didn't stop her from worrying, though.

"Hey, Mira," Cana said suddenly, looking up with bleary eyes. "Can I get another shot, love?"

Mira couldn't help but smile at the pet name. "Are you sure? You've already had quite a lot," she said.

"Only twelve," Cana said, and let out a cynical sort of giggle.

"Twelve and I don't even know how many pints," she reminded her. "And that's just since three. You'd been drinking before you even came to the guild this morning."

"'M'fine, Mira," Cana said, waving a hand dismissively. It might have been more effective at being reassuring if it hadn't been the hand that was holding her mug. Cana looked at the spilled beer that had sloshed over the edge and onto the floor with a disappointed pout. "Aww, I was gonna drink that," she sighed.

Then she looked up with those big brown eyes of hers, which Mira always had such a hard time refusing, and said, "Come on, Mira, you know I can handle my liquor."

Mira could feel herself caving and resigned herself to it. She could never resist Cana's rare but devastating puppy dog look. "Fine, then. Whiskey again?"

"Mmm…" Cana tapped a finger to her lips, pondering. "I think vodka. And make it a double— no, a triple."

"Cana…"

"Please?"

Somehow the begging look intensified, and Mira sighed. "Alright, a triple, but no more after that, okay?" Pulling a lowball glass from under the bar, she poured out a triple shot of the premium Isenberg vodka that she knew Cana preferred. By the time she had finished, Cana was making grabby-hands motions toward the glass, and with a tolerant shake of her head, Mira slid it down the bar with practiced ease.

Cana caught the sliding glass with only minimal fumbling. "Thanks, babe." She downed it in a single smooth shot, then gave Mira a hazy grin.

"So who are you asking to be your partner in the trial?" Mira asked, wanting to divert the topic from the subject of liquor.

She herself had been Cana's partner twice, the year she lost to Mystogan and the year she lost— to Mira's utter shame— to Erza. And then the year after _that_ , she had been selected as a competitor, and she had to admit, she felt a little guilty for beating Cana out. The year after that... Well, after that, it had only been six weeks since Lisanna's death (supposed death) and Master had suspended the exam out of respect. Last year there had been some issue with not having an adequate number of participants to hold a trial, so once again Cana had been denied the chance to become S-class. Mira had to admit, it would have been wonderful fun to partner with Cana again, but as one of the proctors of this year's exam, it obviously wouldn't be possible.

Cana merely grunted in response to the question.

Mira decided that was invitation enough to continue. "Maybe Laki would be a good choice," she suggested. "Especially given where the exam is being held, wood-make magic would be an asset. Or Macao? I know he's older, but the two of you have always been close. Although, if fire is needed, you can make that just fine yourself, so maybe not… hmm, or maybe Wendy? She's tougher than she looks according to Erza, and her support magic would be a nice backup. Ooh! I know! You should ask—"

She had been about to say _Lucy,_ but Cana interrupted her sharply. "Can you just shut the fuck up?!"

Mira felt as if she'd been slapped. Cana might be caustic at times and had a sarcastic sense of humor, but she had never, _never_ turned that against her. She nearly physically recoiled. "Cana—"

"I don't wanna hear about this. I don't wanna talk about it," Cana snapped. She was still having a hard time focusing on Mira's face— her eyes were trained somewhere in the vicinity of her left ear— but her look was sharp and angry.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted to help."

"Well, zip it. I don't _want_ help."

Mira turned away. If Cana was going to be this prickly, she wanted no part of her foul mood. She stalked down to the end of the bar and began reorganizing the liquor bottles.

Cana, for her part, seemed to be back to staring into her beer.

* * *

Almost an hour later, it was nearing close up time for the bar, and Cana was still sitting almost exactly where she had been before. Mira hadn't spoken to her at all, though Kinana had refilled her mug several times before Mira sent her home for the evening.

"Time to close up," she said to Cana, almost succeeding in keeping her voice gentle.

Slurring her words even worse than usual, Cana whined, "Aw, already?"

"I'm afraid so."

"But I haven' had 'nough to drink."

Mira's lips pressed into a thin, tight line. "I think you've had too much," she said.

"You're jus' cutting me off 'cuz you wanna go home," she slurred. "Sell me the bottle, baby, I promise I won't tell."

There are certain moments in a person's life when a split-second decision has a bigger impact on the world and themselves than they ever truly know. Small moments, small choices, with consequences all out of proportion to their size. For Mirajane, though she did not know it, this was just such a moment.

In another life, maybe Mirajane relented. Whether it was out of sympathy or foolishness or a simple desire to get Cana out of her hair, maybe she gave in. Maybe she sold a half-full handle of vodka to Cana and sent her on her way. Maybe Cana wandered out into the snow in her thin clothes, upending the bottle again and again until her legs gave out and she stumbled into an alley and fell into a half-conscious stupor. Maybe a compassionate friend spotted her on her walk home and took her in and warmed her up and drew out the poison that had been festering in Cana's belly for nearly thirteen years.

Maybe in some other world, in some other life, all of that happened. But Mirajane, wavering on the edge of her better judgment, hesitated.

She considered Cana's foul temper that night, and how her drinking problem— which was no small issue at any time— always got so much worse at this time of year. Mira worried about Cana's drinking, of course she did. _Everyone_ did. But she'd learned the hard way that Cana just plain didn't respond to her usual tactics- which Mira was fair enough to admit could be pushy at times- and for the last few years had limited herself to a few pointed remarks on the subject. Tonight, though… well, maybe it was because she had Lisanna back, because she felt more like her old self than she had in years. Or maybe Cana's waspish mood had hurt her more than she was willing to admit. Whatever the reason, she felt more prepared to be stern with her old friend than she had been in a long time.

"I think you've had too much," she repeated, plucking the empty glass from the bar top in front of Cana. "Why don't I get you a glass of water and then once I've finished closing things down here I'll walk you home?"

Cana squinted a little, eyebrows drawing together angrily as she tried to focus on the woman keeping her from her next drink. "I can walk jus' _fine_ ," she grumbled.

"I never said you couldn't," Mira replied placidly. Of course, Cana almost definitely _couldn't_ walk in her condition, at least not with any hope of getting safely inside before she froze half to death in the snowy streets, but saying that aloud wouldn't get them anywhere. "But you should get some good sleep tonight. You'll want to be in good condition to start training with your partner tomor—"

"Would you shtop talkin' about the damn S-Class trials?" Cana growled.

Mira raised her hands, palms-outward in a placating gesture, and said, "Alright, we can drop the subject. But you do need to go home, I can't stay here all night."

Cana's energy looked to be on the downturn and her head sank to the bar top with a thunk. She mumbled incoherently into the wood, and Mira could only catch the words "maybe," "company," and "babe."

She couldn't quite keep herself from rolling her eyes. It had been a long time since she'd seen Cana this far gone— about a year, in fact— but it was pointless trying to argue with her now. In this state, it was best to just make decisions, because if you pushed hard enough, Cana would go along with it.

Mira glanced around the guild hall. Mostly everyone had gone home at this point, and those who remained weren't exactly the sorts she believed could handle getting Cana home in one piece. Lucy had just left a few minutes earlier, so she was out. Warren already had his hands full with Max, who had once again drunk himself into a stupor. An odd thing, considering that Mira could only remember pouring him a single shot of brandy several hours earlier, after which he had disappeared. It seemed that he had ended up underneath the table of a corner booth, arms and head hopelessly tangled in his own shirt.

The only two left were Joey Fullborn and Pantherlily. She smiled. The eldest Exceed had been putting in a lot of effort to learn more about the other members of the guild. As far as she could tell, he would pick one or two people a day and spend some time with them. He had been integrating into the guild's social structure quite well and at a far faster rate than his dragonslayer partner had been. He was respectful and, by all accounts, a good cat.

And it would seem that he was in the right place at the right time.

"Pantherlily? Could I ask you a favor?"

He looked up at her call and made his way over to the bar as he replied, "That depends on what you need Miss Mirajane, but I'll assist you if I can."

"Would you be so kind as to walk Cana back home to Fairy Hills? I have to finish up here, it's late, and it'll be even later by the time I'm done."

Pantherlily glanced between Cana and Mirajane and nodded. "You can count on me to get her home safely."

That potential problem out of the way, Mira's shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank you, Pantherlily." They made their way over to Cana's barstool and Mira gently prodded the top of her head. "Come on Cana, Pantherlily is going to walk you home."

Cana lifted her head with great effort and squinted into the space above Panther Lily. She slurred, "Phfffffft… Lilies are flllllowers, babe. Thhhey can' walk." However, she didn't argue and slid precariously to her feet, swaying as she slung her purse strap with dubious coordination over her head. She started staggering to the main door and Pantherlily made to follow her.

Before they made it too far though, Mira stage-whispered to Pantherlily, "Just so you know, Cana's… not exactly in the best of moods right now. If she says anything harsh, don't take it personally."

"Understood." Lily looked back over to his charge who was struggling with maintaining her balance, pushing against the 'pull' doors leading outside. He turned to leave and bade her farewell, "Good night, Miss Mirajane."

Mira watched them go, murmuring her own good night after them as they disappeared into the snowy night. Despite their earlier exchange, Mira couldn't help but hope that this year would be different for Cana. That old, slow building worry for her dear friend and her self-destructive tendencies came to the fore of her thoughts, and there was little doubt in Mira's mind that if something didn't change soon, Cana might do something more drastic than pickling herself.

Only time would tell.

* * *

As the First Division Commander of the Edolas Royal Army, and former Captain of the Holy Guard of Her Royal Divinity, Queen Chagotte of Extalia, Pantherlily had faced many challenges in his life. He had singlehandedly felled the Mad Legion-Beast of Traia, helmed the imperial forces of King Faust for the better part of a decade, and managed to route any number of ruffians from the royal palace during would-be assassination attempts. He was well-versed in managing villains and wastrels of all stripes. But none of his experience had prepared him for the amount of wrangling required by the simple task of chaperoning an intoxicated Cana Alberona.

At first, he had remained in what he referred to as his "reduced" Earthland form. Cana was a grown woman, and he had tried to do her the courtesy of allowing her to find her own way home without excessive interference on his part. Unfortunately, this proved almost immediately to be an awful idea, as Cana's attention span seemed to have shrunk down to almost nothing, and she was constantly wandering off after any little thing that caught her eye. They had managed to wander down two alleys in the first three minutes after leaving the guild; latching onto her fuzzy purse and trying to weigh her down to restrain her meandering did not work at all in his reduced form. It took him all of three blocks— and the awareness that her last drink must be hitting her, given how often she was tripping— to realize that he could not manage her when he stood all of 74cm.

Switching to his battle form with a tiresome burst of magical energy, he reached out and caught Cana by the elbow just in time to keep her from face-planting onto the cobblestones.

"You should be careful, Miss Cana," he said, not quite as sternly as he had meant to. "You have quite a trial ahead of you, and it would be a shame to disqualify yourself with an injury."

Whatever mood Mirajane had been referring to earlier seemed to have melted away, because Cana just giggled. "Oh calm down, Fluffy."

"F-Fluffy?"

"I'll do just fine disqualifying myself on my own merits," she continued, ignoring his mild affront at the nickname.

He frowned down at her. This was what qualified as a wizard of S-Class potential in Fairy Tail? A lack of confidence he could understand but… weren't they supposed to be exemplars of the guild itself? He thought so, if his interactions with Erza Scarlet were anything to go by. "You don't think you have what it takes then?"

Cana hiccuped and swerved dangerously towards a wall, then back into Pantherlily after he corrected her trajectory. She grumbled, "Eh… pro'ly not. Failed four times. And third time's the charm right?"

Lily's brows shot up at this comment. Miss Cana had been selected five different times? Obviously, Master Makarov had a great deal of faith in her abilities if he'd been willing to pick her time and time again for the trials. It would seem, though, that that faith in her abilities did not influence the woman's view of herself. Then again, failing over and over again did little to garner self-worth for some, so he could understand why she felt as she did. However, curiosity and concern prompted him to ask, "Why do you keep trying if that's the case?"

"Wha's the definition of madness again?" Cana mumbled before falling silent.

With answers like that, Pantherlily felt it crude to continue to pry.

A thought, however, occurred to him as Cana continued to weave erratically through the snowy streets of Magnolia, only escaping accident by the skin of her teeth even with his help. "Miss Cana… if I may ask," he ventured, "Are you quite sure we're going the right way?"

"Pffffft no, we're going the _left_ way," she said with a hiccuppy giggle.

Pantherlily frowned. "Is Fairy Hills even in this direction?" he asked.

"Ahaha, I… I thhhiiiink so…?" Cana mumbled, going cross-eyed as she tried to focus on a snowflake that had landed on her nose.

"You're not sure?" Lily asked, aghast.

Cana shrugged, and his heart sank. He had no idea where he was going, and clearly Cana was too far gone to help out. He wasn't sure how much longer he could maintain his full form; with training he was sure he could improve his stamina, but the shock of arrival in such a magic-laden atmosphere had been hard on him. He estimated that he had another twenty minutes in him at the most-and that was if he didn't exert himself too much- before he was forced to revert. How on earth was he supposed to fulfill his promise to Miss Mirajane?

Right at that moment, like an answer to an unspoken prayer, Lucy Heartfilia appeared around a corner. His sensitive feline ears picked up the sound of her grumbling under her breath about a forgotten handbag.

"Miss Lucy!" he called out in relief, raising the arm that wasn't occupied with keeping Cana from face-planting in the gutter to wave the celestial mage down.

Lucy turned and spotted them down the cross-street. "Pantherlily? And… _Cana?_ " Her eyebrows visibly raised at the two of them; Lily had to admit they were a somewhat unlikely duo.

"Miss Cana has… imbibed a bit too heavily," Lily said, and immediately felt vulgar for saying it. Exceeds brewed no ales, and it was considered decidedly impolitic to mention anyone who partook of human alcohols. Years serving King Faust and living among humans had never really cured him of the niceties of Exceed culture.

Lucy, clearly not under the weight of any such inhibition, merely sighed. "That happens sometimes. She tends to sober up pretty quickly, but she dives deep some nights. You doing okay, Cana?" She peered into her friend's face with a look of mild concern.

Cana hiccuped and let out a gurgling laugh, shaking her head in vacant amusement.

"She's not very coherent at the moment," Lily pointed out, rather unnecessarily.

"I can see that."

Cana mumbled something and reached up to fiddle with Lily's whiskers. Snorting and swatting her fingers away with his free hand, he looked to Lucy and, a little desperately, asked, "Do you know how to get to Fairy Hills from here? Miss Mirajane asked me to walk her home, but I'm afraid I don't know the way."

Lucy, who had been studying Cana with some concern, perked up and turned her attention properly back to Lily. "Sure, I can tell you how to get there. If you came from the guild, though, you're going totally the wrong direction."

Pantherlily groaned internally. "Oh. I see."

"Do you want to just bring her back to my house instead?" Lucy offered. "I only live a few more blocks from here, she could crash at my place for the night."

The offer warmed him. He was starting to understand how this guild worked, how it functioned as a family and each member looked out for their fellows. It was beginning to make sense to him how just a few ragtag members had toppled Faust's empire in a matter of days, all for the sake of their stolen friends. He hadn't known many, in Extalia or the Kingdom, who were so willing to care unreservedly for others.

"You're a very kind girl," Pantherlily said, "but I promised I would get her back to her own home safely. Just directions will be fine."

Lucy's expression cleared and she nodded. "A promise is a promise, I get it. Well, you'll want to turn back the way you came and head straight down the boulevard past the guild until you get to… um…" She frowned, her nose wrinkling up a little as she pondered. "I think it's Peach Street? No, Pear, sorry. And then you just take Pear straight down to the lakefront and you'll be able to see the path up the hill to the dorm from there. It's a big building, all by itself on the hill, so you can't miss it once you get to the shore drive. Although…" She gave Cana a leary look. "It might be better for you to just fly at this point, because I really don't think she's going to be able to walk much farther."

"Whaaaaaa're yu _talkin_ nabout," Cana whined. "IIIIII can wal' jus' _fine_."

Her legs gave out from under her and she plopped down on the slushy cobblestones.

"... _Right_ ," Lucy said, eyebrows rising practically to her hairline. She glanced back up at Lily. "Are you sure you don't want me to take over?"

He shook his head. "No, Miss Lucy, I can handle things from here. Thank you for your direction."

"You're welcome, Lily."

She watched apprehensively as he scooped up the wavering Cana into his arms. Her suggestion was a good one, Lily decided, and if he had any hope of getting his charge home before his transformation wore off, he needed to take to the air. With a hard flap of his enormous wings, he lifted off into the sky, and turned in the direction Lucy had indicated for him.

In his arms, Cana went a little green. "Whoa," she mumbled. "Yer reeeeally fas'."

"Just close your eyes," he said. "You'll be in your own home in moments."

Cana, mercifully, obeyed. Within moments, she was asleep.

* * *

 **Authors' Notes, part 2-** Chapter 2 will be posted on September 15th. We don't always anticipate being able to update that quickly, but we are going to try to commit to updating at least once a month. Both authors are adults with busy lives, but we think we can manage that much, at least! Any feedback you have time or inclination to leave would be much appreciated!


	2. My Toes Are Numb

**Author's Note-** Surprise! We decided that since we do in fact have Chapter 2 ready to go, we'd post a couple days sooner than we'd planned. It's a bit longer, so we hope it'll tide you over until we've got Chapter 3 all polished up!

Since we know it's a big consideration in the FT fandom, we thought we'd make a quick mention about shipping. It's in our author profile now, too, but since we both know that not everybody reads profiles, it seems best to discuss it here as well: we're keeping ships a bit mysterious at first on this one. The only ship we're confirming right off the bat is AlBis, obviously. We've a few other ships in mind, but not all of the ships are locked in, so we're keeping our lips sealed on the subject until ships gradually become relevant- besides, we hope you'll appreciate this story for the plot rather than for the ships (though there definitely will be plenty of shippy goodness once we get to that point).

Once again, many thanks to the betas for this chapter, Howlingmoonrise and Cthulu With A Fez. You guys are the best!

* * *

 **Chapter 2: My Toes Are Numb... Too Bad The Rest of Me Ain't**

* * *

Cana winced as Erza's overloud voice assaulted her ears. She really didn't know what the swordswoman was shouting about a full hour before noon, but it was an affront to humanity to be _that_ energetic _this_ early. She raised both hands to cup her throbbing head, elbows resting on the wooden table top as her fingertips dug into her scalp in an effort to soothe the pounding in her temples.

She really hadn't meant to get quite _that_ drunk last night, but it certainly wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last. Oh well. She'd made a bit of a fool of herself in front of Pantherlily, but the Exceed had a sort of cool older brother vibe that made her feel like he probably wouldn't hold it against her. Mira, on the other hand…

She glanced over at the stage, where Mira and Master had— to Cana's enormous relief— drawn Erza into quiet conference.

Last night was all a little fuzzy, but she knew she had hurt Mira's feelings. Maybe a couple of times, for all she could recall. She'd always had a softer relationship with Mira than with most people, especially after Lisanna died, and she wasn't used to needing to make amends. It was probably for the best that Mira had seemed to avoid her today, because she wasn't quite sure what to say.

But in the meantime… she needed to choose a partner. Mira had been right about that last night. Who to ask, though?

Cana wasn't part of an official team, and the people she had worked with the most over the last few years were Gray and— before he was revealed as a Zodiac spirit— Loke, but seeing as the two of them were partnered up, that well came up dry. She glanced around the guild, studying faces.

Maybe Max? No, Cana had a personal rule against partnering with anybody who could be done in by two beers, that was just a recipe for disaster.

Jet? Cana studied the speed mage for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter, which her pounding head immediately made her regret. Yeah, Jet was definitely not an option…

Her eyes strayed to Macao, who Mirajane had suggested last night. It was true that she and Macao had been close for a long time. Hell, when she was younger, she'd sort of had a hero-worship older-man crush on the guy. (Thank god she was over that, in retrospect it was incredibly embarrassing.) But… would he actually be useful in an S-class exam? He was a plenty skilled wizard, sure, but there had to be a reason he'd never made S-class himself, and as Mira had pointed out, he didn't add much to her skillset. So… maybe Macao could be a backup plan?

A flash of blonde caught her eye, and she glanced over to where Lucy sat, chatting amiably with Lisanna and Gray and Elfman (who seemed to be hiding from his partner, if the nervous looks he kept throwing over his shoulder were anything to go by). Cana studied her for a few moments. Lucy… She'd come back alive and intact after successfully completing an S-Class quest right after joining the guild. But then, she'd gone with Natsu, and Gray and Erza had followed along and helped them out, so that might have had something to do with it. She was part of the most dangerous team in Fairy Tail, though. Lucy had had some pretty amazing adventures, though Cana was pretty sure most of them got exaggerated in the retelling, so who even knew what was the truth? On the other hand, Erza _did_ think highly of her, so…

But Lucy was a rookie, big time. She didn't talk about her past much, but from what little she'd said, Cana had gleaned that she'd had virtually no magic training prior to joining the guild. Her father, apparently, had limited her access to magic in her education. It made her successes so far impressive, but taking such a brand-new mage on as a partner seemed foolish. If she had _offered_ , maybe, but asking out of the blue was stupid. No matter how kind and sweet Lucy was, no matter how much potential she had, she was a newbie, plain and simple. Cana needed a partner with some experience. Somebody longstanding and specialized and precise. Someone like… someone like…

"Bisca!"

Cana's head shot up at the sound of Alzack's voice, cutting through the low-rumbling chatter of the guild like a ray of sunlight through a gap in clouds. Her eyes darted around, searching for green hair and skipping past Freed in the process, before she spotted Bisca sauntering down the center aisle of the guild between the tables to meet Alzack by the request board.

Bisca… sharpshooter Bisca… Moulin Rouge herself… That was it!

Decision made, Cana jumped to her feet, which turned out to be a terrible idea; it took her an excruciating minute after standing up so quickly to get her head to stop spinning. By the time her vision cleared and the pounding in her skull dulled down to a low throb, Bisca and Alzack had parted ways. Alzack was clutching a job flier in his hand and walked over to stand patiently at Mira's elbow, waiting for her to finish the conversation she was having with Erza before presenting her with the request he was taking.

Bisca, meanwhile, had perched on the edge of a table, watching Alzack go with pink-stained cheeks and a fond smile. Cana approached her on shaky legs, hoping her hangover wasn't as obvious as it felt.

"Hey, Bisca," she said, pasting on a grin.

"Mornin', Cana," the gunslinger replied, returning her smile distractedly. "You all set for the exam? You've been selected a couple times before, haven't you?"

 _Yes, as everybody seems so intent on reminding me_ , Cana thought grumpily. Outwardly, though, she just turned up the wattage on her grin and said, "Yep! That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. You interested in partnering up?"

Bisca's hazel eyes widened. "You want me to be your partner?" she asked, incredulous.

Cana nodded. "I thought we worked together pretty well on that job we did with Joey back in April. So whaddaya say? Wanna help me become S-Class?" The bravado tasted sour on her tongue… though that might've just been the hangover.

"Oh Cana, I'm so sorry," Bisca said, wringing her hands. "It's just… Alzack and I just picked out a job. It's time-sensitive, we're escorting a young Viscount to his father's winter estate— security, you know?— and it'll take us at least a week and a half."

She glanced back at Alzack, who had finally caught Mira's attention and was showing her the flier, and Cana's heart sank. Bisca and Alzack had been unofficially a team since about three days after Erza brought her back to the guild, but they were both so shy about their attraction to each other that they went on jobs together far less frequently than most teams did. It was, frankly, a little sickening. And, unfortunately, it made asking Bisca to give up taking a mission with her longtime best friend/crush a whole lot harder.

"But… uh, if you want, I can tell Al that I can't go," Bisca said. "There are lots of jobs, after all, and the S-Class trials are only once a year…"

"No, it's fine!" Cana said, keeping that grin permanently glued to her face through sheer force of will. Bisca's words were sincere, but her eyes were begging Cana to release her from any obligation. "Don't postpone your mission on my account!"

Bisca chewed nervously on her lip, studying Cana closely. "Are you sure? Because there really are plenty of—"

Cana cut her off quickly. She didn't need the temptation of a repeated offer. "It's totally okay. I mean—" She tossed her hair over her shoulder in a casual flip. "—I can always ask Macao."

Seeing Bisca still hesitating, she said, "Seriously, Bisca, it's okay. Go on your job."

Her smile was sympathetic, but her eyes shone with relief as she turned to glance at Alzack. "Thanks, Cana. I'm really sorry I can't help you out."

"Don't worry about it." She followed Bisca's gaze and watched as Mira handed the job flier back to Alzack— only for it to be intercepted by Gildarts, who had emerged from somewhere or other to join the little group of S-Class wizards. Cana's chest clenched as she watched him pluck the flier out of Alzack's fingers. She was too far away to hear more than the low rumble of Gildarts' voice, words indistinct under the happy noise of the guild at work, but his approving tone was clear. He beamed down at Alzack and clapped a fatherly hand on his shoulder, handing him the flier back with a nod.

Alzack looked stunned by whatever words of approval he had received from the guild's ace, and he looked over at Bisca in a sort of happy daze, giving her a thumbs-up. Cana's stomach sank down to her toes.

It had been a few years since he'd been in town, and clearly her memory was not doing this particular feeling justice.

Her fa— _Gildarts_ gave Alzack another pat on the shoulder and then, to Cana's surprise, turned to pick up his ratty old satchel with the badly-patched hole in the bottom. He slung the bag over his shoulder and headed for the front door (for once), waving cheerfully to Mira, Erza, and Master as he went.

Her eyes narrowed. Why was he packed for travel? He was helping to administer the exam at the end of the week, so where was he going?

"—na? Cana?"

She came back to earth to the sound of Bisca's voice calling her name. She focused on her friend again, calling back the smile that had slipped off her face as she watched Gildarts, but she knew it must look a little thin, because it did nothing to dispel the concern in Bisca's eyes.

"Are you okay? You seemed like you were miles away."

Cana shook her head. "I'm fine. Just remembered that I need to… uh… ask Gildarts a question about the exam. Gotta go! Bye!" She turned on her heel and dashed away just as the door swung shut.

"Cana!"

She ignored Bisca's exclamation, making a beeline for the door, and slipped out after Gildarts. Wincing as the late morning sun— so much brighter than the soft light indoors— exacerbated her headache, Cana looked around to try and spot where Gildarts had vanished off to. It took her a moment to spot him, since he hadn't taken one of the usual wide thoroughfares created by the Gildarts Shift, but a flap of his black cloak in the wind caught her eye as he disappeared down an alley to the east of the guild hall.

A puzzled frown twisted Cana's lips, and she set off at a somewhat less than brisk walking pace to follow after him.

* * *

Following Gildarts through the streets of Magnolia without being seen proved to be a challenge. He didn't seem to follow any of the main thoroughfares for more than a couple blocks at most, and it made it difficult to hang back far enough to avoid being seen because she ran the risk of losing him if he turned off suddenly.

Then there was the dodgy moment when he stumbled unwittingly into a fruit merchant's cart and destroyed half the man's wares in an explosion of pulp, and Cana had to duck out of sight to avoid being spotted as Gildarts turned to the side. The merchant, who had already been shivering in the early December cold, appeared less than pleased to be spattered with sticky juice, and Cana had to remain crouched for several minutes behind a wheelwright's display, listening intently to the sound of the ensuing argument. Finally Gildarts pressed what was at least forty thousand jewel— probably more, considering how irate the man sounded— into his hand in reparation for the destroyed wares, and was allowed to go on his way.

Cana supposed there was something to be said for taking 10- and 100-year quests. At least when accidents like that happened, Gildarts could afford to pay reparations.

The only mercy Cana found in this little stealth exercise was that, as she trailed him out of Magnolia in the direction of the limestone bluffs to the northeast, a fresh bank of clouds rolled in from the west. Bright morning faded into dull afternoon, and the throbbing in Cana's head eased a little in response, though without the sun to warm her she began to shiver.

Why was she even doing this? It was kind of pathetic. Here she was, following Gildarts all over town in the snow without a coat on. Her. _Cana Alberona_ , who had never in her life run after a man for any reason.

No, that was a flat-out lie. Hadn't she always been following Gildarts, from a distance, in the shadows, almost as far back as she could remember? This was far from the most pathetic thing she'd ever done for him— that honor definitely went to traveling a hundred miles at less than six years old, joining a guild, becoming a mage, and eventually choosing a career as a wizard, all because her father didn't recognize her on sight.

God, she was ridiculous… and where the hell was he _going_ , anyway? Seriously, did anybody even live out here? If she didn't know better she'd think he was skipping tow—

And then she rounded the bend Gildarts had disappeared around a little before her, and froze in her tracks, ducking out of sight behind a rather sad little cypress bush.

Someone did live out here on this far edge of town, after all. The little house with the tree growing out of it was a bit dilapidated, but it looked kind of charming under last night's snow, with the chimney smoking merrily. Gildarts was leaning up against a boulder halfway between the house and where she currently lurked, arms crossed, as he gazed out over an open field that stood between the house and the hills. Cana followed his gaze and realized he was watching Natsu.

The dragon slayer had a boulder easily ten times his size hoisted up on his shoulders, apparently using the weight to enhance a series of leg exercises. Training. _Obviously_ he was training. Any wizard slated to test their skills in the S-Class exam would be training right now.

Any _responsible_ wizard, anyway.

Natsu stumbled, falling to his knees as the weight of the boulder crushed him, and Cana felt a jolt of concern… right up until he surged to his feet, launching the stone into the air with some degree of difficulty, and shattering it to pieces with a strike from one flaming fist.

She glanced at Gildarts, curious to see his reaction, and her chest went cold again at the sight of him smiling fondly at Natsu. Of course. Gildarts had always loved Natsu best.

Shoulders slumped, leaning into the soft cypress branches, Cana watched Gildarts watching Natsu for several minutes. She couldn't bring herself to actually watch Natsu; he wasn't on Erza or Laxus's level, but watching him was too much of a reminder of the fact that physical strength was a personal weak point for her.

"You know, it's not very sporting to spy on the competition." _His_ voice broke through her brooding.

It took her a moment to realize that he wasn't even looking at her yet, and it hit her that he had probably known that she was there for a good long while. Damn it. Denial leapt to her lips but she pushed it down with a snarl. Her patience for dealing with any of this bullshit was gone. All of this, the trials, Natsu, Gildarts… Enough was enough.

It was foolish to believe that she had even an iota of a chance this year. Hell, any year for that matter.

' _Why do you keep trying if that's the case?_ ' Pantherlily's question from the night before echoed in her hangover-ravaged head. Why indeed?

Gildarts had turned his head to look at her by that point. His silent challenge and disapproval woke something furious in her belly. Between the throbbing of her skull, her failure to find a partner, and every other fucking thing today cemented what she knew deep down was always coming. Without uttering a word, she straightened up and left Gildarts and the oblivious Natsu behind.

Maybe Gildarts called out to her. She wasn't listening. She wrapped her arms around her torso as she shivered, vision too blurry to even register the flurries of snow that started falling around her as she headed back into town, gaze locked on the ground a few feet in front of her.

It was time to have a talk with Makarov.

* * *

By the time Cana arrived at the guild hall, she was beginning to regret her choice of open-toed sandals in December, among other things. Her nose was running like a faucet, she was pretty sure every inch of her skin had turned into one giant goosebump, and all she wanted was a mug of mulled wine and a seat by one of the heat lacrimas Kinana was setting up around the room to ward off the cold.

A glance around drew Cana's eyes to Erza, who was standing at Gray and Lucy's table, but there was no sign of Mira anywhere in the hall. Not that Cana was looking for her _specifically_. She had bigger fish to fry.

Or smaller, depending on how you looked at it, actually.

Trying to avoid notice, which she was pretty sure her chattering teeth made more difficult, Cana slid around the perimeter of the room and edged up the stairs to the second floor. Makarov's office door was partway open, and Cana peeked around the edge warily.

The office was in its usual state of mild disarray. Makarov was a little lackadaisical about his housekeeping, and there were three half-empty mugs (two beer and one coffee) on the desk. A precariously-balanced stack of manilla folders leaned up against the row of wood-paneled filing cabinets— probably files he used too often to see the value in putting them away when he was done with them. He was like that, sometimes.

The tiny Master of Fairy Tail himself was perched in his desk chair, atop a stack of three or four padded cushions that allowed him to sit normally. He had a copy of Sorcerer's Weekly open on the desk in front of him, which he attempted to fling out the window when Cana cleared her throat and caught his attention.

"Ogling the pretty girls again, Master?" Cana asked, trying to muster up some approximation of her usual good humor.

"I— ah—"

She couldn't help but laugh, though it was half-hearted. "I understand. I've heard this week's centerfold spread is a real doozy."

"Yes, ah, well—" Makarov huffed awkwardly into his mustache, and cleared his throat loudly. "In any case, Cana, you haven't submitted your partner's name to Mira yet, have you?"

Cana sighed, what little good humor she had found in Makarov's flustering evaporating, and she pulled the door shut behind her. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, Master."

"Is everything alright?" he asked, gruff demeanor softening slightly as he studied her face.

"Actually, I think I'm coming down with a cold," she said impulsively. "I'd better not participate in the trial this year; wouldn't want to pass it on to anybody else, after all."

One silver eyebrow raised. Makarov was quite plainly, judging by his expression, not buying it. "Cana?" he prompted, giving her a pointed look.

Her shoulders slumped. "Look, Master… I don't want to be a part of this anymore. I appreciate you being so nice to me and giving me so many chances to prove myself, but I can't keep doing this to myself."

Makarov looked utterly baffled. "Cana, what are you talking about?"

She took a deep breath— this was it, this was what thirteen years of her life had amounted to. For years she'd been saying it to Mirajane, to Gray, to Loke, to Bisca, but she'd always kept her mouth shut around Makarov. Too scared to take the plunge, probably. Damn coward. But it was finally too much, and it was time to do what she should've done years ago.

"I'm leaving the guild," she said.

The old man's jaw dropped. "L-Leaving? But Cana… child… you're family!"

That was almost chuckle-worthy. Almost. "Yes and no," she muttered. Then, in a louder voice, she continued, "I appreciate that, Master, but the fact is that the reasons I came to Fairy Tail in the first place just aren't…"

She couldn't quite bring herself to hurt the old man's feelings and say it wasn't worth it anymore, but it was what she was thinking. She shook her head helplessly, words failing her.

Makarov was frowning, expression deeply concerned. "But where will you go? What do you plan to do?"

It was a question Cana had asked herself several times over the last three or four years, but she'd ever really come to a satisfactory answer. The current answer was probably something like 'pass out in a gutter and become a hobo,' but she didn't think that would help her case very much at the moment.

"I've heard there's decent money in recharging lacrimas," she said offhandedly, and it was actually more or less true. Mages who chose to go into magical trades rather than pursuing a career as a wizard didn't stand to make nearly as much money at the top of the field, but the income was usually steadier and the mortality rate far lower, which was a fair trade for some.

Makarov frowned. "I can't stop you, of course, but I caution you to consider whether this is really what you want."

"Trust me, Master, I've thought about it. I've thought about it for a really long time," she assured him.

"Well, think about it some more," he said firmly, standing up on his chair so that his entire torso was actually visible over the top of the desk. "We should all return from Tenrou Island by the twentieth at the latest, barring any weather issues while we're traveling. If you're serious about not participating in this year's exam, then I want you to take that time to reflect. Take a job or two with some friends, spend time with everyone, try and talk that lazy bum Nab into actually picking a request… and when we return, if you're still determined—" He sighed, leaning forward so that his palms were braced on the desk, avoiding her eyes as he gazed at the polished wood. "If you're still determined to leave, I will accept your resignation."

Cana crossed her arms, irresolute. That wasn't what she'd planned. A clean break, that's what she wanted, not two weeks of limbo. "I…"

"Cana." Makarov let out a heavy sigh, looking up at her again with a steely gaze, at odds with how tired his voice sounded when he spoke. "You are one of the children this guild has raised. I know I haven't been the best… the best father to you all, but I don't want to see any more of my children leave if it isn't what's truly best for them. Whatever is weighing on your heart— you don't need to tell me if you don't want to, it's all right— I don't want you to regret a rash choice."

And just like that, Cana felt as if the tall, blond specter of someone dear to them both was in the room with them. _Of course._

Well, how was she supposed to just go when he put it like that?

"Alright," she said, uncrossing her arms as her posture sagged. "I'll stick around for another couple weeks. But I'm not putting myself through the exams again."

Makarov gave her a searching look. "There's no shame in failure, Cana."

"There is if you don't learn anything from it," she replied. "I'm not cut out for S-Class, old man, so let's stop pretending otherwise."

"I think we'll have to disagree on that, but if you don't want to compete… well, it's ultimately your decision."

She nodded. "Thanks, Master."

Sitting back down on his wobbly stack of cushions with a huff, Makarov said, "Now get out of here. I've got to figure out how to redesign this damned trial with seven teams instead of eight."

Cana snorted, long years of experience letting her know that his gruff attitude was far more bark than bite. "Sure, Master." She turned to leave, but with her hand on the doorknob, she paused. "Hey, where's Gildarts going, anyway?"

"Hah? Oh, he's off to Tenrou. He, Erza, and Mira are going on ahead to set up in preparation for the trials."

"Oh. So Mira's gone, too?" she asked. She supposed that was all the more reason to stay with the guild at least until the group came back- quitting without apologizing to Mira would feel wrong.

"Not yet," Makarov replied. "She just left to go pack a few minutes before you came in."

Cana nodded. "Guess I'd better go see if I can track her down, then."

"Yes, yes, go on, get out of here."

Cana went, with the familiar sound of Makarov's good-natured grumbling following her out of the room.

* * *

 _One week later…_

Lucy would say that she was surprised to find Happy and Natsu crashed out in her bed again the night before they were set to leave for Hargeon, but it'd be a bald faced lie. Though the routine was irritating, it was nice to be able to see them before they left. After all, she'd barely seen them this week, busy as they were with training and preparations for the trials. With much prodding (and a little screaming) she managed to get the three of them out the door and moving towards the train station. Or rather, the four of them, as Lucy had summoned Plue so he could enjoy the sunny December day too.

It'd mostly been luck that led them to find Gray, Wendy, and Mest meandering towards the train station. Well, luck and Plue's nose.

They caught up to them and fell into step next to Gray and Wendy. Mest, on the other hand, couldn't seem to keep even with them so easily, constantly distracted by the goings on around him and ending up several paces behind or ahead of their little group at all times.

Lucy wasn't really sure what to think of Mest. She'd only met him the day the exams were announced, which surprised her, because after Gildarts' dramatic return, she'd thought she was at least passingly familiar with all the members of Fairy Tail, but it seemed she was mistaken. He seemed like a nice enough guy, though. Bit of an oddball, with his insatiable curiosity leading him to behave a little… _irregularly_ , but compared to some of her other friends...

She glanced over to where Natsu and Gray were walking side-by-side, glaring daggers at each other. It hadn't taken them long to start bickering over who had trained harder and trading smack talk regarding the trials. _Some things never change_ , she thought with a fond roll of her eyes.

That said, Lucy tuned them out once it devolved into name calling and elbowing, falling behind them with Wendy.

Charla, Lucy noted, was nowhere to be seen, and by the way Wendy kept searching the crowds around them, she was feeling her Exceed's absence acutely. It had been no secret to anyone over the last week that Charla disapproved of Wendy's decision, and apparently the white cat was still put out with her girl. It was a shame, but Lucy was convinced that they'd manage to patch things up after Wendy came back. As she watched the little girl, she saw Wendy shake her head and seem to draw herself in, squaring her shoulders under her jacket.

"You were in the exam two years ago, right, Mr. Mest?" she asked, picking up her pace to keep up with her long-legged partner.

Mest nodded. "I have to confess, I didn't do so well that year. But considering I was up against the Demon Mirajane, I suppose that's not so bad."

Lucy shuddered at the idea of having to go up against Mira in a fight; she definitely didn't envy this year's candidates that!

"Miss Mirajane is really strong," Wendy mused. Her sweet little face fell into a worried frown. "I hope we don't have to fight her. I don't think I would do very well against her or Erza."

Mest shook his head, smiling warmly. "I think you're stronger than you know. Together, we'll do just fine against any opponent we come up against!"

Lucy's heart lifted to hear him say that. She'd been a little worried about Wendy being a part of the trials— her self-confidence was below average on a good day— but hearing Mest speaking to her so encouragingly made her feel much more positively about the whole thing. She tried to catch his eye over Wendy's head, and once she finally met his striking teal eyes, she gave him an appreciative smile. He inclined his head slightly in her direction, his own smile broadening in response.

She should have known the peaceable moment wouldn't last long.

"Oh yeah?" Natsu exclaimed suddenly, whipping around to face them, walking backwards with a beaming smile and fists raised. "You wanna go, Gryder?"

"Save it for the trials, dumbass," Gray muttered, and Natsu immediately whipped around to challenge him instead.

"Are they always like this?" Mest asked.

Lucy shrugged. "For the better part of the last decade, to hear Lisanna tell it."

Mest snorted and Gray glared at her, but they had reached the ticket office, and Gray turned away to buy his train ticket, while Mest tried to persuade Wendy to let him pay for both of them, leaving Lucy with Natsu and Happy's undivided attention once again.

"I have to say, Natsu, I'm surprised you're taking the train," Lucy remarked.

Natsu shook his head. "Nah, Happy and I are flying to Hargeon," he said firmly, turning to glare at the nearest engine over his shoulder. Then he looked back at Lucy and gave her a bright smile. "But I wanted to walk at least this far with you guys, since you were going to come and see everybody else off anyway!"

Lucy smiled. It was things like that that made her forgive Natsu for constantly invading her home— she was certain that in some way, he was just as lonely as she had been for so many years. She could put up with some discomfort to help him, if that was what he needed.

"Anyway, where's Loke?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, Lucy, are you gonna summon him before we leave?" Happy asked, toddling over to stand at Lucy's feet.

She shook her head. "Mm-mm. Loke is going to open his own gate once you guys are on the ship. Since it's way more tiring for him to hold open his own gate than it would be to have me do it, he won't come out until you're all close to the island so he can conserve his energy."

Natsu tilted his head to the side, brow furrowed as his lips jutted out into a confused pout. "Well, I don't really get it, but as long as he's ready for me to kick both his and Gray's butts into oblivion, I guess it's okay!"

She laughed. Typical Natsu…

"So Lucy, what're you going to do while we're on Tenrou?" Gray asked. He'd finished purchasing his ticket and rejoined the circle. Wendy and Mest weren't far behind. Well... Wendy wasn't far behind. Mest had gotten sidetracked and was tapping the welds on one of the steel support struts holding the roof up.

"I'm not sure yet," Lucy sighed. "I think I'll get some research done. I found a few interesting books about the history of celest—"

"That's boring!" Natsu interrupted. "Come on, Lucy, why don't you take a job while we're gone. Then you'll have some good stories to tell after we all get back!"

Lucy glared at him. "It's plenty interesting to _me_ ," she huffed. "If I want to improve as a celestial spirit mage, I have to do my best to to learn more!"

"Why d'you need to do that?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to one side in confusion. "How's some old book gonna help you get stronger?"

Lucy was about to make a tart reply when Gray interrupted, "Ignore this bozo, Lucy. Don't you know by now that if Natsu ever opened a book, he'd drop dead?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu barked, while Lucy laughed. "You tryin' to call me stupid or something?"

"Not just _trying_ , Flame Brain," Gray said dryly.

"Guys, please don't fight again," Wendy said, looking distressed. Lucy reached out and patted her on the shoulder sympathetically— Wendy still wasn't used to how Gray and Natsu could be.

Mest, for his part, had finally satisfied his craving for knowledge and rejoined the group, tickets in hand. "Are you quite done?" he asked dryly.

Natsu and Gray ignored him, still too focused on tossing insults back and forth to pay him any mind; Happy munched cheerfully on a bit of cod he'd pulled from his backpack. Lucy sighed heavily, shaking her head. "If it makes you feel any better, this won't happen on the ship," she informed him. "Natsu will be too seasick to function, so he and Gray will probably leave each other alone for the most part."

"Good to hear," Mest droned, one corner of his lips tilting upwards in a lopsided smile. Then he gave her a deeper look, expression thoughtful. "Lucy… you are Lucy _Heartfilia_ , aren't you? The daughter of the railroad tycoon?"

Lucy cringed internally. "Technically yes," she said.

"Your father's an interesting man," he remarked. "And a dangerous one."

"I prefer not to think about him when I can help it," Lucy replied frankly.

Mest nodded. "Understandable. That whole business with Phantom Lord was… I mean, I was, er, out of town on a long job when Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord clashed, but the aftermath was quite a mess."

"Yes, it was," she agreed, trying not to grit her teeth. It was a disaster she was still trying to put behind her.

"What are you talking about?" Wendy asked curiously. "Phantom Lord was Gajeel and Miss Juvia's old guild, right?"

The tension dissipated somewhat at her innocent question, as Lucy remembered that the subject of the Phantom attack had been mostly avoided with Wendy after her arrival at the guild.

Lucy nodded. "Yep, that's right."

"Is that why people don't like Gajeel much?" she asked.

 _Of course_ Wendy would have picked up on Gajeel's general unpopularity; Lucy wasn't sure why she had expected otherwise, because Wendy was quite perceptive. "It's kind of a long story, Wendy. Why don't you—" She almost told the little dragon slayer to _ask Levy on the ship_ , but after a second's reconsideration, decided that that might not be the best thing to bring up right before Levy and Gajeel had to work together for the S-Class exam. She changed direction: "—come over to my apartment after you guys get back from the island? We can have lunch and I can tell you about it." She would have to figure out how to explain the whole thing in a way that wouldn't destroy her entire perception of Gajeel, with whom Wendy had a surprisingly good relationship. Good thing she had a whole week to think on it!

"That sounds wonderful!" Wendy said happily, beaming.

"Sorry to interrupt," Happy said suddenly, causing all three of them to glance down to their feet where he stood between them, "but isn't your train going to leave soon, Wendy?"

Mest and Wendy both looked up in confusion, he glancing at the clock and she at the steam engine. They let out simultaneous yelps of alarm and immediately whipped around.

"Gray!" Wendy exclaimed. "We have to go!"

"Huh?" Gray looked up from where he and Natsu were wrestling around on the floor, as the two of them froze at the sound of her voice. Gray had a handful of Natsu's hair and had lost his shirt, while Natsu's pants were ripped and he was gnawing on Gray's wrist; at this point, Lucy was so used to their antics that it really was comical.

"The train is leaving," Mest said flatly, pointing at the line of uniformed conductors who were busily shutting all the car doors.

Gray swore under his breath and grabbed his shirt from where it had been flung across the platform floor, scrambling to his feet as he yanked it back over his head. Then, with a flurry of goodbyes and a quick hug from Wendy, the trio were boarding, leaving Lucy, Natsu, and Happy standing on the platform.

"We'll finish this in the exam!" Gray shouted, hanging out the window to speak to Natsu.

"The exam? Psh, I'll race you to Hargeon, you're not even worth my time in the exam!" Natsu retorted.

"You're gonna race a train?" Gray sneered. "As if!"

"Just watch me! I'll even give you a five minute head start and I'll still kick your ass!"

"Uh, technically it will be _me_ racing the train, Natsu," Happy pointed out, though only Lucy seemed to pay him any mind.

As the train started to pull out of the station, Lucy jogged along beside their car to the end of the platform, waving. "Bye Wendy! Bye Gray! Bye Mest! Stay safe, you guys!" she called, and heard their fading voices call farewells in return.

Then she turned, and it was just her and Natsu and Happy. The little cat popped the last bit of his fish in his mouth, while Lucy faced Natsu.

"You're not really going to try to race the train, are you?" she asked.

"Sure I am," he said, "So long as Happy's up for it. You're up for it, right, Happy?"

"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed, raising tiny little fisted paws into the air enthusiastically.

"Aye sir!" Natsu echoed, throwing his arms up as well, while Lucy giggled at their antics.

Natsu lowered one hand to shade his eyes from the early morning sun, staring down the tracks at the disappearing train. "It's been five minutes, right? We'd better go, Happy!"

"Um, it hasn't even been _one_ minute," Lucy muttered, but Happy had already leapt from the floor to sink his claws into Natsu's vest.

Natsu turned to face her fully, Happy peering over his shoulder, and out of nowhere, Lucy was seized by a sudden irrational desire to hug him. She couldn't say what it was, but she suddenly felt very uneasy, swamped by an inexplicable feeling of... abandonment? Was that what it was?

"You'll take care of yourself, right?" she asked earnestly.

He grinned. "'Course I will! When have I ever not?"

"I could list so many times," she said under her breath.

"Ah, come on, Luce," he said jovially. "It's just S-Class exams! I'm gonna kick Gray's ass and then I'm gonna fight Erza and Gildarts and then I'm gonna become S-Class and when I get home you and me can go on all kinds of new adventures!"

She smiled through her disquiet. "That sounds like a lot of fun," she said.

"Now let's go!" Happy exclaimed, wings bursting into existence in a shower of glitter and a soft chiming noise. "See you when we get back, Lushy!" he said, giving her his broadest little feline smirk.

Lucy grinned back, because it was hard to hold onto ominous feelings when Happy smiled at you. "See you, soon," she replied.

"Max speed!" Happy exclaimed. He flapped once, hard, and he and Natsu rose into the air with a burst of wind, soaring away after the train.

For a moment, Lucy almost left it at that. Then, on the impulse of a moment, she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled after them, "GOOD LUCK, NATSU!"

Natsu turned to look over his shoulder, raising one hand to acknowledge her, before he turned to face into the wind, he and Happy chasing the train down the rails in the direction of the far-off coastline.

Lucy and Plue stood there watching the train pull from sight and Natsu and Happy disappearing into the blue, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. She did believe what she told them. She _did_. Her friends were strong and good at what they do, so of course they'd be fine. Right?

But no matter how she tried to reason her way past it, the uncomfortable emotions welling up in the wake of being left behind sat firmly in her heart.

Though Plue did his best to lift her spirits, the walk back to the guild hall seemed to take forever. Lucy didn't know what she expected when she walked in that morning, but she couldn't recall a time when the hall felt so empty. Or quiet for that matter.

Jet and Droy were moping at Shadow Gear's usual table. They'd been quite sore about the fact that Levy took _Gajeel_ , of all people, for her partner. Given their history with him, she could understand why they didn't quite trust him. At Levy's behest, she'd attempted to reassure them that yes, Levy did know what she's doing and yes, Gajeel was more reliable than they thought he was. Granted she was only somewhat successful but at least they stopped tailing the iron giant everywhere he went. Now, they sat around looking a lot like a pair of house cats under the impression that they'd been abandoned.

Kinana rushed back and forth behind the bar, doing her best to keep up with orders despite the fact that there was not even half the usual crowd here at the hall. To be fair, serving here could be a bit nuts. Kinana was relatively new to the whole barkeeping gig, having only been hired recently to take some of the load off of Mirajane. It'd take some time before she could take care of the whole operation with the same ease that Mira did.

She'd have to offer her some help once people started filtering back in from the jobs they'd scattered off to after the S-Class announcements, Lucy decided before continuing her survey of the usually bustling guild hall.

Alzack, Bisca, Joey, Vijeeter, Wan, and Warren were all part of the group that had taken missions, the excitement of the S-Class selections long since over. Granted, there was still an air of anticipation that lingered. After all, who would be their new S-Class wizard? From the sounds of things, only one was allowed to be granted the title annually. Knowing the Master's style when it came to such things, it made sense that there could only be one. To Lucy's thinking, it still felt a little odd, limiting it like that. But what did she know, anyway? She'd barely started to study magic properly after running away from home, so she supposed she just didn't know enough about guild management to understand.

Lucy shrugged the thought off and took a seat near Reedus, while Plue quickly wormed his way up into her lap. A quick glance at the painter's easel revealed a bunch of different objects and a few of the people sitting around rather than a particular scene. He looked up at her and smiled, humming a greeting to her before going back to his work. Before she moved on in her observations, she caught sight of an orange tipped nose and the curve of blonde bangs on the canvas.

Smiling, she took note of her other guildmates one by one, the wriggling sensation of something wrong finally dissipating in the familiar warmth of the hall.

Nab was waffling between the jobs board and wandering over to talk to Laki who was busy tinkering with some project or another. From this distance, Lucy couldn't figure out what it was for, but considering it was Laki, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

Mickey Chickentiger was sulking with her team, obviously irritated with the quiet, slower pace. Or maybe it the fact that she hadn't been selected for the trials? She was one of those who had been gunning hard for it this year, so it wasn't surprising that she would be more restless than usual after having missed out. Given Mickey's pugnacious attitude, Lucy half worried that she might instigate something just for the sake of something to do were it not for the fact that the typical brawlers of the guild were gone. To Lucy's relief, it didn't take long before she had enough of her own fidgeting and left to find something to do with the rest of her team.

Chico was napping in a booth seeing as how her usual companions, Joey and Wan, were gone on business. Her spirits drifted about her head, popping in and out of view.

A table over, Macao and Wakaba were deep in speculation as to who might come out on top in the trials, laughing over some of the more ridiculous tests they tossed back and forth that the master might've cooked up for this year's candidates.

"It's bound to be a year nobody will forget for a long time," Wakaba chuckled, taking a drag from his pipe. He leaned back and puffed a ring of smoke towards the ceiling. "What do you think Lucy? Who do you think's gonna get it?"

Lucy chuckled nervously, "I don't know. I don't think I should pick between my friends."

"Oh come on, no one? You see Natsu and Gray in action all the time, you've gotta have a have an opinion one way or another," he wheedled, obviously on the hunt for some juicy detail. Between his teasing tone and mildly suggestive grin, Lucy had a feeling that he was asking about more than just who between the two might ascend to S-Class.

 _Oh, well that wouldn't do at all_. She looked up in mock thought then smiled back at Wakaba, "Sure I do… Levy, hands down."

Obviously disappointed, Wakaba shook his head and huffed, "That's no fun."

Macao snorted into his pint and said, "Well you did ask, Wakaba. You can be just as bad as Mira with your pestering. Leave the kids be, yeah? This ain't one of your soa-"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," Wakaba lunged across the table at Macao, flailing his arms. "Okay I get it man, just, ah, ease up."

Lucy couldn't hold back her laughter after Macao winked her way. Reedus was only marginally more polite and refrained from doing more than coughing into the back of his hand.

Wakaba's affection for soap operas on the radio was one of those common knowledge secrets of the guild. According to Macao, it wasn't as embarrassing as it once was for him but it was still not something he wanted broadcasted to the younger wizards.

What a shame that Lucy found out about it within a few months of her arrival. It had been sort of hard to ignore Wakaba and Laki very loudly talking about the latest episodes of _The Bold and the Magical_ when damn near everyone but a scant few were absolutely shnockered.

New movement at the barside drew Lucy's attention from the conversation. She was vaguely aware of the two older wizards veering off on another subject, but she paid it no mind. On any other day, the sight that had caught her attention would not be odd in the slightest. However, very little was normal today and this certainly should not have been either: seated at the bar was one Cana Alberona, nursing a beer.

What was she doing here? When Lucy hadn't spotted her or her partner at the train station, she'd assumed that they'd already left like most of the others.

Come to think of it, had Cana ever found a partner to begin with? Wracking her brains, Lucy couldn't recall any sort of news on that front. Every other candidate had their partners lined up almost immediately, and in the chaos of excitement, she'd assumed that Cana was all set, too.

Why was she still here? The ship was scheduled to leave from Hargeon's port soon. If she didn't leave now—

Then it hit her. Just who would go with Cana as a partner? Who was left who even could? For a moment, she thought about going up and offering to do it herself but… from the look on Cana's face, doing so would probably kick up more problems than it'd help. Besides, if Cana'd wanted her as her partner, she would have approached her herself earlier this week.

It didn't help that Cana looked like absolute hell. Lucy had never seen her so _off_. To the casual observer, she might have looked relatively normal, but the dejected curve to her shoulders and dull eyes told a very different story.

Swallowing her guilt, Lucy sat back in her seat. She honestly had no idea what to do. Plans came and went, but none felt right. She knew Cana, but she didn't _know_ her and had no clue how she'd react to her interference. For now, she'd just have to keep an eye on her.

* * *

 **Author's Note part 2-** Special shout out as well to our reviewers Miss Dany and FoxOnPie. Thank you both for taking the time to leave feedback, it means the world to us!


	3. A Knock at the Door

**Author's Note-** Wow, cut it a little close on our posting date this time. Our next chapter probably will not be up until the 29th of October because it's a very busy time for both of us... but guess what? Next time we post, both authors are going to be in the same geographical location! BCA meetup ayyyy~~

Also, there is art to accompany this chapter, drawn by one-half of BCA. It is viewable on AO3 or on Scarl's blog (link to be added in our profile later).

Thanks, as usual, to our beta team, Howlingmoonrise, Cthulhu With A Fez, and Professor Maka. We had them on a tight schedule this time because we're both foolish procrastinators and really only got this chapter finished today, but the three of them are badasses who pulled through on combing through this anyway. Thanks a million, guys!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Knock At The Door**

* * *

One by one, the street lights of Magnolia flickered on as the sun began to set on the 15th of December. Frosted windows opened up to scenes of warmth, people coming together to ward off the encroaching cold of winter. Such an air could also be found at the hall of Fairy Tail.

Chatter had returned to the guild along with most of those who had left on jobs. A scuffle here or there popped up, but never was it anything close to the usual full scale free-for-all. The first and biggest one had started when Mickey descended on Joey the second he walked back in. Wan was pulled into the fray by virtue of proximity along with Mickey's team. Thanks to a lack of dragonslayers or ice make wizards or manly men or knights, they had managed to keep the collateral damage down to a cracked chair leg and a small dent in the wooden floor.

Some successfully tuned out the low-level brawl; when one was used to melees of greater scope, it was a simple case of desensitization. Lucy didn't bother to look up from her book. However, her lack of reaction was born solely of distraction.

No matter what Lucy did, she could not settle the burgeoning sense of disquiet that ebbed through her. Something… something was profoundly wrong. It was like there was a fundamental fact of the universe that was skewed, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what. She shook herself. _It's nothing_ , she chanted at the wriggling feeling in the back of her head.

After having read the same page three times, she set her book down and rubbed her eyes with a light hand. Who was she kidding? With her brain trying so hard to impose a feedback loop of worry, getting anything done was going to be a futile endeavor.

She sighed and turned her attention to the goings-on around her— what little there was, at any rate. She didn't dwell on any one person for long, finding that nothing they were doing was particularly engaging. Once her roving eye landed on Cana, however, Lucy paused and mulled over the recollection of her... well, she didn't know what to call Cana's reaction to being confronted about still being in Magnolia a few days prior...

 _It didn't take long for Lucy to toss her compunctions about approaching Cana aside. As the days rolled by after the S-Class candidates set out for the trials, the woman had been constantly intoxicated, even more than usual. It was well past the time that Lucy could in good conscience ignore that something was wrong. She didn't want to_ confront _her, exactly, because on the morning everyone else had left, she hadn't responded well at all to asking her why she was still in town. Lucy had no desire to repeat Wakaba's experience with having ale dumped on his head. But her conscience wouldn't let her remain silent._

 _And so she chose her moment carefully, waiting until the slow side of mid-afternoon when most people were out on local jobs or napping in corners, sleeping off a hearty lunch. It had been a quiet day anyway, most people dedicating their time to party planning; after all, it wouldn't be Fairy Tail if they weren't plotting a ridiculously over-the-top blowout to celebrate the selection of a new S-Class wizard. Two parties, actually, because of course. There would be one the very next day after the trials officially ended and Makarov called ahead on the lacrima to let them know who had won, and then a second, larger party once the candidates returned._

 _In light of the impending festivities, most of the guild members were laying low in preparation. The only people who were still present and fully conscious were Max and Nab, who were busy making a banner that would be hung over the stage when their new S-Class wizard arrived home at the end of the week, and Kinana, who looked deeply relieved that the hall was quiet for an hour or two. It was the perfect opportunity for Lucy to spring her plan into action._

 _Features schooled into a soft, friendly smile, Lucy sidled up to the cards wizard and slid onto the barstool next to her._

" _Hey, Cana," she said, cheerful but not too cheerful._

 _Cana looked up at her, eyes bleary with drink. "Oh. Lucy. Hi."_

" _How's it going?" Lucy asked._

 _She shrugged. "Same old, same old." She lifted her mug to her mouth and threw back the rest of her beer. "Hey, Kinana, can I get another?"_

 _The apprentice barmaid scurried over to replace Cana's beer._

 _Lucy fought to keep from frowning as she watched Cana take several long swigs from her new mug. She'd meant to ease into the subject, but she was worried, and since nobody else seemed inclined to say it… "You've, um, been drinking a lot lately," she observed warily._

" _So?"_

" _So… is everything okay?"_

 _Cana gave her a wobbly thumbs-up. "Just peachy."_

" _Are you sure?" Lucy asked skeptically. "Because you didn't go to the S-Class trials even though you were a chosen candidate, and you've been in a bad mood all week."_

" _I don't want to talk about it, Lucy," Cana bit out, the tired snap of a creature resistant to action. She didn't bother to look back up from her drink._

 _Lucy squared her shoulders, not prepared to give up after the first defeat. "Look, Cana, I—"_

" _I said,_ I don't want to talk about it!" _Cana growled._

 _Her tone was quiet, but absolutely vicious, and it was obvious this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere. Part of winning the war, her father had often said, was knowing how to pick your battles. This was the time for a tactical retreat if she ever saw one._

" _Okay," she said, trying to make her tone as soothing as possible. "I'll leave it alone. But… if you need someone to talk to..." Lucy caught Cana's eyes and stressed oh-so-carefully her next words: "You know where you can find me."_

 _Cana actually looked up at that, not quite dumbstruck but obviously not expecting that. "You—"_

 _Whatever she was going to say was lost as Max's voice barged between them. "Hey! Cana, Lucy, one of you got a sec? We need a second opinion!"_

 _Lucy glanced over to where Max was standing and saw that he and Nab were glaring daggers at each other, locked in what initially appeared to be an arm-wrestling match but which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a power struggle over a light pen._

" _Looks like the banner-making has gone south," Lucy observed._

 _Cana snorted. "Did you really expect anything else in this guild?"_

 _She shrugged. That was a good point. "You coming?" she asked._

 _Cana waved her off. "Nah. I'm too drunk to deal with Nab right now, you go. You do that whole creative writer thing anyway, right? You'll actually be able to help."_

 _And so, reluctantly, Lucy allowed herself to be diverted from her goal and swept away into Nab and Max's heated debate about whether the banner should say "congratulations" or "good work" and whether the ink should be red or color-changing..._

The couple of days since that incident had passed in much the same manner. The guild was active, but not half so lively with most of their top-tier members gone. Kinana poured. Cana drank. Everyone pretended not to notice.

Lucy snapped her book shut with a quiet groan.

"Everything okay, Lucy?" Max asked from the next table over.

She nodded. "Yeah, just can't seem to focus," she said. "I think I'll head home for the night."

"Smart," Max observed. "They're gonna be starting the last-minute party prep any second now and if you don't wanna be stuck here until after midnight, you're gonna want to get out before Nab drags you into something."

Lucy giggled at the sour look on Max's face. He'd been "caught" by the party-planning commission several nights in a row, and the lack of sleep was starting to show. Personally, Lucy couldn't see how all this planning was even necessary; a society soiree was one thing, but Fairy Tail didn't seem to need anything fancier than a song from Mirajane and a tapped keg to have a riotous good time.

Then again, she suspected that an elaborate celebration after the S-Class exam was one of those fond Fairy Tail traditions that she would get used to over the years.

"Thanks for the tip," she said.

"Actually, I'm gonna bail, too," he said. "I'll walk you out, yeah?"

* * *

Her apartment was a little chilly when she arrived home that night, as she'd turned down the output of the heat lacrima before she had left that morning. Sure, she was able to recharge it herself, but without the proper tools it usually took more time than she had to do so. _Ha, I can rip holes in space-time to summon beings from another dimension, but heaven forbid I try to use my magic for more domestic applications_ , she thought dryly.

Of course, she was more than aware that magical item manufacturers designed them that way on purpose so as not to cut into their recharging profits, so she rolled her eyes as she cranked it back to where she wanted it.

She set down her things on the table and ambled toward her bathroom, snatching up her warm flannel pajamas on the way. If the temperature was going to keep dropping, she might as well be cozy. The prospect of a quick bath to get warm again, maybe some tea, and a good book drew her into her evening routine with nary an ounce of reluctance from her.

Half an hour later she was clean, warm, and settled in with a book on spatial magic theory. With her mind distracted by her nightly routine, it was easy to get back into the subject matter.

Or so she'd thought. Three pages into a chapter titled "Interdimensional Divides, Time Distortions, And Parallel Worlds," she realized she hadn't absorbed a single word of what she'd read and her gaze had wandered to the window without her being aware of it. With a frustrated pout twisting her lips, she directed her attention back to the book.

Four minutes later, she was back to gazing out the window before she realized it had happened.

"Urgh!" She snapped the book shut and tossed it irritably on the table, getting to her feet and heading back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. If she couldn't focus, at the very least she could get some sleep, and maybe tomorrow she would be in a better mood to do some studying.

Lucy felt listless as she moved aimlessly around her apartment, toothbrush dangling from her lips. She was moving in circles and she knew it, too tired to focus on anything, but too restless to settle down. Deciding to give up on oral hygiene for the night, she ambled back over to the bathroom. She rinsed her mouth, dropped her toothbrush back in the holder, straightened up… and caught sight of Horologium's reflection in the mirror and shrieked.

She whirled around, a hand over her pounding heart, and heaved a deep sigh to settle herself. "I should really be used to people showing up unannounced in my house by now," she said crossly. None of her friends had ever been taught how to knock, it seemed, and that was bad enough. But now that her magic power had increased enough for her spirits to access her reserves without her consciously calling them, it seemed that spirits other than Loke were picking up the habit of just popping in whenever they pleased. While she didn't mind the company, a little forewarning would be nice…

Then, as her pulse settled, she looked more closely at her spirit and realized that Horologium's face— stiff and gleaming though it was— bore a distinctly perturbed expression.

"Horologium?" she asked probingly. "What's wrong?"

The clock's pendulum seemed to swing a little faster, though maybe she was imagining it. "Lord Leo has tasked me with requesting that you open his gate," he announced.

 _Open his…?_

"He's _asking?_ " Lucy echoed. "Why not just come through on his own? Is the exam already over? What—?"

Horologium held out one spindly arm to silence her. "I do not know. I only know that Lord Leo has taken too much damage to his essence to open his own gate."

Lucy frowned. That anxious feeling she'd been catching all day… What on earth had happened during the trials that he'd been so badly hurt?!

"Thanks, Horologium. You can go back now— I'll call Loke in a moment."

With a creaky nod, he vanished in a shimmer, and the small drain him opening his gate had created on her magic eased.

Lucy exited the bathroom, mouth settling into a stern scowl. She walked over to her bedside table, where she habitually placed her keys after changing into her pyjamas each night. Picking up the key that embodied the Gate of the Lion, she studied the way her lacrima lamp was glinting on the gleaming metal.

Celestial spirits were not beings of matter like other living things— they were creatures of pure energy, born of the power of the stars themselves, and they didn't really have a true physical form. They could manifest an appearance, and even a physical body capable of interacting with the human world if either they or their summoner had enough magical power. As a result, they had a relatively high damage threshold, high enough that deadly force (well, deadly to humans, anyway) was usually needed to disrupt their forms and disperse them back to the spirit world.

Her blood simmered in her veins with that last thought. What happened to the trials being a _test?_ Either someone didn't know how to dial it back to a nonlethal caliber (a serious shortcoming for someone looking to be S-Class as far as she was concerned), or whoever damaged him wasn't holding back because of his status as a spirit… in which case Lucy was going to have to flay the person responsible alive.

Well… whatever the case, she needed to summon her lion and get some answers.

Her magic power rose to her will, weaving her connection to Loke into something more substantial. As it solidified, she was nearly bowled over by the force of Loke's distress; her own anxiety returned and almost swamped her reason. Heart galloping, she opened his gate without ceremony.

Loke gasped when he came through, immediately doubling over at the waist and clutching his torso. His teeth were bared against the pain as he attempted to straighten up and speak. He had heavy dark circles under his eyes and he looked pale and sweaty. The nature of this world was doing its best to reject him in his wounded state. Although she had never actually seen it herself, she could recognize the symptoms of a spirit whose energies had been depleted too much for them to manifest in the human world.

"Loke!" Lucy rushed forward to help support him. The hand that found purchase on her shoulder was shaking. She could _feel_ the strain of maintaining his presence in this world exacerbating his condition. Appalled, she poured more magic through to him to take the edge off as best she could. "Why would you ask me to summon you in this condition? You need to go back to the Spirit World, you're hurting yourself!"

She was about to close his gate, but he shook his head adamantly and she could feel him resisting the press of her magic's impending dismissal. He huffed, "No! I'll… in a moment. But Lucy, everyone on Tenrou Island is in danger!"

"What?" Every niggling feeling of foreboding, every single moment of unease she'd been experiencing these past several days came flooding back. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me… let me sit for a bit," he said, and she could feel his shaking intensify as his body lost some of its solidity.

Nodding, she ushered him over to her couch, easing him down on the worn cushions. "Loke, what happened? Who did this to you?"

"Grimoire Heart attacked the island," he said grimly, slipping his glasses off and staring at the metal frames in his trembling hand.

Lucy blinked, recognizing the name, but not entirely sure where she recognized it from. "Grimoi— 'Demon's Heart?'" she asked. "Is that a guild?"

Loke nodded in affirmation. "Another of the Baram Alliance along with Oracion Seis and Tartaros."

"A dark guild…"

"Yes. Everything was going just fine. We'd gotten through the first round of the trials all right— we beat Juvia and Lisanna in a duel, though I don't think Juvia was actually trying— and we'd all dispersed to start the second portion of the exam, and then next thing Gray and I knew, a warning flare had gone up, and suddenly there were foot soldiers everywhere…" His body wavered, and Lucy's hand, still resting on his shoulder out of concern, very nearly slipped right through him. She forced another wave of magic power into him, and his form stabilized, though his color didn't improve.

"When did this happen?" she asked.

Loke gave a cursory glance at the clock on her wall. "I would estimate it started about… six hours ago, human time? Just long enough for me to catch my breath."

"Is everybody alright? Do you know if anyone's been injured? What—?"

"I don't know," Loke said, and the helpless expression on his face made her go cold, "We were all separated, spread out all over the island. I don't… there's no time to tell you everything, but last I knew, Gray was fine. I got into a tussle with… well, we can talk about it later. But last I knew, Gray at least was in good shape. As for the rest, I really don't know."

She tilted her head, trying to think. "If those guys are part of the Baram Alliance, do you suppose they've attacked Fairy Tail as revenge for what we did to Oracion Seis?"

Loke shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think the two events were related, but I didn't have time to ask too many questions. I was in too much of a hurry to get to you the instant my energies recovered enough to survive in the human world." He flashed her the exhausted ghost of a flirtatious smile, but it was flat.

Lucy felt frozen down to her toes, and she was sure she was shaking almost as much as Loke. She should have _known_. She should have done— done _what,_ exactly? Tell everyone not to go? That wouldn't have worked… but she should have done something!

She needed to do something _now_.

Lifting her hand from Loke's shoulder, she said, "Thank you for warning me, Loke. I'll take it from here." This time, when she pressed her power into his gate, he vanished in a golden haze.

Lucy sat back, Loke's key resting loosely in her palm, warmer than before from the amount of power she'd had to pour through it to keep Loke's essence stable in a physical form. She tried to push worry for Loke out of her mind, because it wasn't productive. Although he could certainly feel pain, and was clearly in a lot of it right now, Loke _was_ immortal. With enough rest and time immersed in the spirit world's energy, he would recover. Her other, _very human_ friends on Tenrou, on the other hand...

Fairy Tail under attack… Grimoire Heart… _what the hell was going on?_

She wasn't sure what could be done, but she knew she had to act, and act fast. It had already been hours since Loke had been cast back into the spirit world, so who knew what on earth could have happened in the meanwhile? She needed to let the rest of the guild know what was going on.

Decision made, Lucy jumped to her feet. Not wasting time with changing out of her pajamas, she grabbed her keys and slipped her boots on, then grabbed the first garment she spotted on her coatrack and sped out the door, barely remembering to power down her light lacrimas behind her.

* * *

Lucy ran. Past the dark storefronts and houses, over the canal, she ran. Her loosely-laced boots did little to help her gain purchase as she rounded corners, forcing her to use her hands to remain upright and moving. The long coat she had grabbed billowed out behind her, and slush soaked through her sweatpants and down into her socks. Her hands were numb and the cold night air scoured her throat and lungs, but she didn't care. She had to tell the others, alert the guild. There were wolves at the door and their comrades were in grave trouble.

She wasn't sure what they'd be able to do for them, so far from home and help. It didn't matter, though, because they had to try _something_. She had to have faith that the Tenrou teams could hold out, stand against the tide. She had to believe that they could manage to get to them in time.

"Why does stuff like this always happen to us?" Lucy huffed as she skidded around the corner and onto the last stretch to the guild. It was kind of ridiculous, actually, now that she thought about it. It seemed like every time she turned around, the guild— or her close friends, at least— were all plunging into the midst of some new crisis, usually a potentially-fatal one.

Upon catching sight of that oh-so-familiar symbol emblazoned on the banner hanging on the front of the hall, a small sense of hope stretched a smile across her face.

They wouldn't be Fairy Tail if they let their friends face this threat alone.

She threw open the doors with all her strength, eyes searching out those who remained at this late hour. There were still a few people left, apparently still working on decorations for the planned celebration.

Kinana was perched on the edge of the stage, and at Lucy's loud entrance, she fumbled the clipboard she was holding, startled. Nab jumped so hard he almost knocked over the ladder he was holding steady for Laki; the lilac-haired wood mage very nearly took a nosedive off the top, where she had been twining decorations around the rafters. As it was, a set of streamers tore to pieces when they came up against Laki's frantic flailing.

"Nab! What's the big idea?" Laki yelped. One of her outflung hands twisted at the wrist, and then she was grasping onto a newly-grown post that had burst from one of the rafters near her head. White-knuckled, she clutched onto that as Nab stabilized the swaying ladder, apologizing profusely as he did so.

"Sorry for startling you," Lucy said breathlessly, rushing across the hall to where the three of them were situated.

Rather than trusting her weight to the ladder any longer, Laki elongated the slender post she was clinging to, allowing it to grow and lower her gently to the floor. Settling feather-light on her feet, she turned just as Lucy reached the group.

"I thought you'd gone home for the night, Lucy," Nab remarked.

Lucy grimaced. "I just heard from Loke," she said.

"Oh, did he say who won the trials?" Kinana asked, brightening up.

She shook her head. "No, I think the trial must've been suspended. The island is under attack by a dark guild!"

Kinana's already pale face went whiter, and Nab and Laki both gasped.

"Which guild?" Nab asked. "What's going on?"

"Loke didn't have time to tell me very much. He was pretty badly injured from his fight with one of the members, so he couldn't stay long, but he said the guild was Grimoire Heart."

Nab made an involuntary noise of distress, his lips drawing back in a grimace. "What the bloody beeswax does Grimoire Heart want with Fairy Tail?" he demanded.

Lucy shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. I don't know. But we have to do something."

"What _can_ we do?" Laki asked. "It's more than a hop, skip, and a jump to the island."

"I'm sure if we all put our heads together, we can think of something," Lucy said firmly, though she was largely saying it for her own reassurance.

It was Kinana who, to Lucy's surprise, responded, "Lucy is right! I know I haven't been here long, but I already can see that Fairy Tail can do anything we put our minds to!" She looked so small, standing there at barely five feet tall and clutching her clipboard protectively over her chest, but her mouth was set firmly as she raised her chin in determination.

"Well said!" Nab agreed, patting the petite woman on the shoulder.

"So what do we do?" Laki asked.

"Master Makarov left Macao in charge while he's away," Lucy mused. "Has he gone home for the evening? First thing we need to do is get him back here."

Nab nodded. "I can go get him. Macao took me on my very first job when I joined, so he probably won't mind me knocking so late."

Lucy somehow doubted that, but since she had no idea where Macao's house was, it seemed as good a plan as any. "We should get everybody else here, too, right? People will want to know what's going on, and the more people we have working together, the better our chances of figuring out a way to help!"

Laki spoke up next: "I'll go to Fairy Hills and rouse the fair maids from their slumber!"

"And one of us will have to go to the men's dorm and wake the guys," Lucy said.

"Um, I don't really feel comfortable going to the men's dormitory alone," Kinana said timidly.

"What about the people like you and Joey who live in their own houses or apartments? And the people who are out on jobs?" Nab asked.

Lucy tapped a finger to her lips, thinking hard. "I don't think there's any point in recalling people from jobs unless we think we might need their specific magic," she said. "As for the people who live in town… does anybody know where everyone lives?" She directed the question to Laki, who she knew was insatiably curious and had a tendency to memorize very inane bits of information, more than the other two, but the older girl shook her head.

"I only know where a few people live," she said.

"Um, I might… be able to help?" Kinana offered hesitantly. "Since I'm handling the kitchen while Miss Mirajane is away, I've got the building's master key. Maybe… maybe we could see if there's a list of addresses in the guild's records?"

Lucy snapped her fingers. "Kinana, that's brilliant! Okay then, here's what we do: Nab, you go get Macao. If you see anyone on the way, or pass anyone else's home, wake them up, okay? Laki, you go to Fairy Hills and start knocking on doors. Kinana and I will start searching the record room for a contact list and make some lacrima calls."

"Then who will go to Fairy Court to get the boys?" Laki asked.

Lucy had next to no desire to go within a hundred yards of the male dormitory; by all reports it was a disaster zone on every level except architecturally (and who knew how long _that_ would last, considering the hot-tempered propensities of some of the people who inhabited it). Fortunately, she had a ready answer to Laki's question.

"I think I know just the guy," she said with a sly grin, reaching for her key ring.

* * *

Max did not expect to be woken up at half past midnight by a super buff cow in hotpants yelling at him to get his ass to the guild, but to his alarm, that was exactly what happened. It wasn't the strangest wakeup call he'd ever had, but seriously… The _hell?_

It looked far too pleased with its handiwork when it saw he was awake, but when it noticed that Warren was still asleep on the other side of the room its smile faltered. He watched through blurry eyes while the large creature walked over to Warren's bed and plucked the earplugs out of his roommate's ears with surprising deftness for the size of its hands. It took a deep breath before bellowing again (Max barely had the time to cover his ears), "Up and at 'em! You've gotta mooooove it to the guild."

Warren screamed and fell off his bed with a thump at the cow-man's feet. He growled, though the menacing effect was mitigated by the sleep in his voice, "God dammit Max, that wasn't funny." He turned to snap at him again when he didn't respond and froze when he caught sight of the cow's legs.

"Uh Max? Who's this?" Warren visibly gulped.

"Haven't got a clue, dude." He'd never seen this— Person? Cow? Magic experiment gone horribly wrong?— in his life. Given its enormous stature and absurd appearance, Max was pretty sure he would have remembered someone like that.

It spoke again, sounding annoyed with their sluggish responses, "I'm Taurus, Miss Luuuucy's spirit. She wants everyone at the guildhall on the double."

"Everyone? Why?" Max shoved himself upright to squint at Taurus. Why would Lucy be calling a meeting at this hour? Why was she the one calling a meeting in the first place? If it was about the party, it could wait til tomorrow, damn it!

"Leo came back. He said there's a nasty battle going down out on Tenrou Island." Taurus rolled his shoulders and regarded them with an uneasy look. "He was in pretty poooor shape when I saw 'im."

"Shiiit." Warren whistled from where still sat on the floor. "What's happened?"

Taurus shrugged. "Don't got all the details." He poked at his own stomach and said, "All I know is some enemy guild is attacking and he got blasted pretty goooood right about here. Probably woulda killed a human. Whatever's going on must be _udderly_ disastrous."

"Crap… Alright we'll get going. Or do you want us to help get the others up?" Any remaining grogginess left in his system was draining quickly with this revelation. Max knew Loke, even went on a few jobs with the guy; he had been no slouch in battle before he rejoined the celestial spirit world. Even less so now that he had Lucy as his wizard, and could apparently operate in a fuller approximation of his true strength, if their fight with Bickslow was anything to go by. For him to get badly banged up, it really must be something rough going down. With that thought, Max needed no further prompting to get up and get some pants on. This would be a long night.

The spirit nodded, "Miss Luuucy said to get everyone as fast as I can. Help would be nice."

"Probably less jarring for people too," Warren muttered under his breath so Max was the only one to hear, but he needn't have bothered. Taurus was already heading out the door onto the next room, shaking the walls with his thundering voice. Warren frowned after him and added, "Hey, I'm gonna get to the guild. They're going to need my help getting ahold of the folks who don't have communication lacrima."

"Alright man, see you there." Max nodded as he made to follow Taurus' path of chaos.

"I'll keep you posted with anything new."

Thankfully, most of their neighbors heard the commotion and were coming out of their own accord. The sight of Taurus marching down the halls with Max trailing behind him gave a number of them pause. When he saw that they were awake, Taurus didn't bother to stop and explain what was going on, and left Max to get the others caught up as to what was happening.

And so over and over he got the others caught up as to what was happening (so far as he knew, anyway) and sent them on their way. Few resisted, but those who argued or thought this was an overreaction found themselves nose to navel with an angry celestial spirit in short order.

Max had to give credit where credit was due; the bull had a gift for motivation, if only by way of intimidation. Between the two of them, it didn't take long to get the entire men's dorm mobile. Those who hadn't left yet were grabbing gear and items they might need for whatever came next. It was pretty obvious that there was going to be some sort of effort to send reinforcements or something so it was best to be prepared.

Half an hour later and his mission bag ready, Max was the last to leave the building. There was no sign of Taurus anywhere, so Max took off through the empty streets.

* * *

The records room was on the second floor, directly next to Master Makarov's office with an adjoining door. Kinana's master key didn't open either the hall door or the adjoining door to the office, but the records room was unlocked with no trouble. The two young women immediately set about searching for some kind of address book, or at least the right filing cabinet. They hadn't been in the room more than sixty seconds, though, before they realized that this was going to be much easier said than done.

"This is a mess!" Lucy exclaimed in disgust.

"It is a little disordered," Kinana agreed mildly.

It was only the grim circumstances that kept Lucy from laughing out loud at Kinana's understatement. The room was windowless, lined along one wall with shelves full of boxes and what appeared to be various curios, and on the other three with massive metal filing cabinets, with only room left for the door to swing open. A large, scrubbed pine worktable sat in the middle of the room, but it was stacked up with folders and loose papers and a plate containing what appeared to be very, _very_ old bagel crumbs. Or _something_ crumbs, at least. Lucy grimaced in disgust.

"Um… where should we start?" Kinana asked.

"Well, there's gotta be some kind of organizational system for all of this," she replied, walking to the nearest cabinet and pulling it open with a flourish. "We just need to figure out what it is and we'll be able to find what we need easily!"

There was not, it transpired, anything even remotely resembling an organizational system. Folders were mislabeled or not labeled at all, or contained some of what they said they did but were mostly full of blank paper or misfiled mission reports. As far as Lucy could tell, half the drawers in the filing cabinets weren't even _alphabetized_ ; ten minutes in Fairy Tail's record room was enough to have her on her hands and knees, on the verge of sobbing in frustration.

"We don't have time for this!" she moaned. "Doesn't Master Makarov ever put anything away where it actually belongs?"

It sounded absolutely ludicrous to her. Having been raised by Jude Heartfilia, whose immaculate record-keeping was legendary among his employees, Lucy found that the idea of keeping a business's paperwork in this kind of disorder verged on repulsive. But then she thought of her first encounter with Master Makarov on her very first day at the guild. She recalled how he had cheerfully lit the written notices of complaint from the Council on fire and tossed them to Natsu for a snack.

 _That… might actually explain a great deal about how this guild runs_ , Lucy thought, pulling a face at the thought.

Kinana, for her part, didn't seem too bothered and just kept flicking through the files in the cabinet she'd chosen to investigate. She was like that, Lucy had realized. She didn't know the violet-haired woman well, as Master Makarov had only brought her to the guild perhaps three weeks earlier, but she had established herself pretty quickly as the kind of person who didn't put up any sort of fuss and just did what needed to be done.

"You're taking all this pretty well," Lucy observed, setting aside her organizational angst in order to get back down to flipping through a batch of accordion files. "It took me months after I joined the guild to stop completely freaking out over stuff like this."

Kinana lifted her head in a curious little shrugging sort of gesture that looked like it belonged on someone with a longer spine. "There doesn't seem to be much point in panicking," she said. Then, after a moment, she asked, "Do things like this happen _often_?"

Giving the accordion files up as a lost cause, Lucy opened a new drawer. "More often than I would have suspected," she said with a wry chuckle. "I always knew being a wizard would be an exciting life, but I never would've guessed it was _this_ dangerous!"

"Do you regret joining, then?" Kinana asked.

Lucy's lips tipped upwards in a smile. "Not for a second."

Kinana's back was to her, but Lucy could hear in her voice that she was smiling, too. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way."

After another minute of sympathetic silence punctuated only by the sound of rustling papers and the metallic sound of sliding cabinets opening and closing, Kinana spoke up again. "Lucy, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Ah… sure?" Lucy agreed warily.

"Why are you wearing Gray's clothes?"

Lucy's brow furrowed in confusion. That was not even remotely the question she had expected. "What? I'm not wearing Gray's clothes, I'm wearing my pajam—"

She glanced down at herself for confirmation and realized that while she was wearing her own winter pajamas, the coat she had grabbed before running out the door did, in fact, belong to one Gray Fullbuster. "Oh," she said, baffled. "I guess he must have left this behind last time he was naked at my house."

Kinana's fern green eyes widened. "Oh my," she said. "I did not realize you two were that close!"

Lucy had to restrain a groan as she realized how what she'd said must have sounded. Granted, to anyone who knew Gray well, it was a perfectly banal statement, but for a newcomer like Kinana, who had only minimal exposure to Gray's more unusual habits… "It's not like that!" she protested, but from the look on Kinana's face, she doubted the other girl believed her.

 _Well_ , that's _bound to be all over the guild by mornin_ g, she thought with a shake of her head, turning back to the cabinet she was rifling through. She was aware that rumors abounded regarding the nature of her relationships with both of her male teammates. She'd done her best to quash the gossip, especially after Gemini revealed that Gray did actually have a bit of a thing for her; she didn't want to hurt him (or give Juvia any more ammunition than she already had), but she supposed at this point it couldn't be helped.

There was no sense fretting about it, she realized. She had to get her focus where it actually needed to be right now. Squaring her shoulders, she pulled the next row of folders in the cabinet forward so she could examine their labels...

They did eventually find a woefully incomplete list of addresses and other contact information. It appeared that sometime around X774, Master Makarov had started filing new employees' paperwork in some other location or using some other system, because they couldn't find anyone's records from after that date. This turned out to be fine, since the people who had joined in the last decade were mostly young and single and still lived in the dorms.

Lucy and Kinana divided the contact info between themselves, with Kinana calling anyone who had a personal lacrima-comm frequency, and Lucy taking the addresses of those who didn't. A hand brushed across Taurus's key and a brief telepathic conversation let her know that the Golden Bull had successfully roused the residents of Fairy Court; she dismissed Taurus remotely and summoned Virgo in his place. The Maiden was much swifter than he was, and speed was what she needed now that they were going to have to run all over Magnolia and the surrounding countryside.

"Virgo, can you go to each of these addresses and wake up the Fairy Tail members who live there?" she asked, handing Virgo half the list and praying that they weren't out of date— a very real possibility given the state of the record-keeping— and she wasn't sixty seconds from springing her strangest spirit on unsuspecting townsfolk in the middle of the night. "Please ask them to come to the guild, tell them it's urgent."

"Is this relating to Brother's injuries, Princess?" Virgo asked.

Lucy nodded. "I don't know if he's had time to tell you, with the time difference between our worlds, but something bad is happening, and we need to rally the guild."

"Very well, Princess. I will deliver your message swiftly!"

Virgo dropped through the ground and out of sight, and Lucy groaned. She really needed to talk to Virgo about leaving what basically amounted to massively oversized molehills under Magnolia's infrastructure— it was probably all kinds of hazardous. But now really wasn't the time for it, and if underground was faster than over land…

She shook her head, dismissing worries about her spirits for the time being, and looked down at the addresses she was left with, mostly those closer to the guild since she couldn't move as quickly as Virgo. It looked like the closest address was a little condo owned by Reedus about four blocks from the guild hall.

"Kinana, I'm heading out!" she called back into the record room, where Kinana had set up the communications lacrima and was running her fingers over the foggy crystal to call out to a new frequency.

She raised a hand to acknowledge Lucy, and turned back just as the haze in the lacrima cleared to reveal a very surly-looking Wakaba and a woman Lucy assumed must be his wife.

Tucking Gray's jacket more snugly around her body, she stepped out into the snowy night and started jogging south down the avenue in the direction of Reedus's home…

* * *

By the time the guild members still in Magnolia were all roused and had made their way to the guild hall, it was almost two in the morning. Thankfully, Lucy hadn't had to be out in the cold streets for long. By the time she had hit the first few houses, Warren had arrived at the guild and started contacting others telepathically, saving her a lot of time spent running around in the dark. But she still couldn't help but think that it had taken too long, all of it. Too much time to call people to the guild, too much time for people to dress themselves and get to the guild, time that should've been spent planning. But what else could they have done?

A few people were still out on jobs— notably Wan, as well as Alzack and Bisca— but for the most part they had managed to muster everyone who could be found, about one hundred and fifty strong altogether. The whole crowd was milling around in varying states of dress and undress, some in pajamas, some wearing little but their coats. There was a general sentiment of not wanting to be awake at this hour if there wasn't booze involved buzzing around the crowded guild hall, with some members a great deal more vocal about their desire for caffeine than others.

Macao had arrived with Nab while Lucy was out fetching Reedus, Mike, and Estelle, and it seemed Kinana had filled him in on what was happening before they got back. As the volume of the grumbling scaled up, he clambered up on a chair and, cupping his hands over his mouth, shouted over the din: "Everybody _zip it!_ "

Silence fell (gradually) as all eyes turned to their _de facto_ leader.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why we were called here so late," Macao began once something approximating quiet had overtaken the guild.

"Laki said we needed to 'provide succor and aid to our friends across the balmy sea,'" Chico piped up, looking disgruntled.

"Really?" Tono asked, looking puzzled. "That Taurus guy said we had to help the people who went to Tenrou Island."

"How is that different from what I said?" Laki demanded crossly.

"Everybody!" Macao shouted as the chatter started to rise again. "Yes, it's true, we've received word that there's currently a problem on Tenrou Island. It seems that the dark guild Grimoire Heart has attacked the island and interrupted the S-Class trials."

The noise level immediately erupted again, with various conversations breaking out amongst the wizards gathered in the hall. A voice Lucy couldn't immediately place rose over the noise to ask, "Did Gramps call on the lacrima?"

"No," Macao called back, once again overruling the crowd on volume alone. "Our friend Loke returned to warn Lucy of the danger. As of now, we haven't heard from Master Makarov."

It seemed as though every eye in the place turned to Lucy, who fell back instinctively on seventeen years of comportment training and managed _not_ to fidget under so many focused stares.

"What's going on on the island, Lucy?" Max asked. "Why is Grimoire Heart attacking?"

"I don't know," Lucy replied. "He didn't have time to say much."

"Is Levy okay?" Droy yelled.

"I'm not sure," she said, feeling flustered by the sudden questions. "Loke hadn't seen her."

"Are Grimoire Heart retaliating because of what Erza and them did to the Oracion Seis?" Tono asked.

"I really don't—"

"Well, what _do_ you know?" Mickey snapped, leaning around Nab to glare at her. "Seems like you've gotten us all out of bed for nothing at all."

"Don't be a bitch, Mickey," her teammate Abigail retorted before Lucy could say a word. "Moire's gone for coffee, chill out."

"Whatever," Mickey muttered. "Wouldn't have to send stupid Loke crying for help if _I_ was out there fighting Grimoire Heart." She turned away to look back at Macao, who was shouting for silence again.

Having regained something approximating quiet attention, Macao said, "I'm sure our friends on Tenrou are going to be just fine. Even discounting Gildarts and Master Makarov, they're strong. Actually, they're some of the strongest mages this guild has ever seen. Kind of ridiculous, actually… Anyway, they're definitely capable of handling an opponent from a dark guild. Except, uh, thing is, they're not just up against some punks from Eisenwald or something this time. They're facing one of the top guilds of the Baram Alliance. And… uh… well, like I said, I'm sure they're fine. And we should have faith in them, right? But we wouldn't be Fairy Tail if we left our comrades to face an enemy like that alone, so… yeah, we should do something to help them."

There was some lukewarm clapping and one half-hearted cheer in response.

Wakaba leaned over to whisper in Macao's ear, "Nice speech."

"Shut up," Macao huffed, pinking up. "I'm no good at talking off the cuff like that."

It wasn't the most inspiring speech, but it actually made Lucy feel much better about the whole situation. For the last hour and a half she'd been doing her best to suppress a burgeoning feeling of panic in her gut. She'd been fretting and out of sorts all week, and the news Loke brought had been the proverbial last straw for her confidence. But Macao was right— their friends were strong. If Natsu couldn't handle some goons from Grimoire Heart, to say nothing of Erza or the legendary Gildarts, or even Gajeel, with whose brutal strength Lucy was intimately familiar, no one could.

But as she'd resolved earlier, they also couldn't abandon their friends on the _assumption_ that they'd be okay.

"So what are we gonna do?" Max asked.

Wakaba, whose pompadour was in a sad state of disarray beneath a hairnet that he appeared to have forgotten to take off, tapped the stem of his pipe thoughtfully on his palm. "Well, it seems to me like before we come up with a plan, we need more information," he observed.

Max nodded. "Agreed. Lucy?"

Lucy shrugged. "I pretty much only know what Macao's already said. Loke was too injured to say much more than that."

"Damn," Macao said, climbing down from the chair. "Can you summon him now to get more info?"

She shook her head. "Sorry. Summoning him now would hurt him badly and I can't do that to him. I could maybe have one of my other spirits ask him, but with the time distortion between worlds I'm not sure exactly how long that would take."

"Do it," Macao said. He cupped his chin in his palm, forefinger tapping lightly against his cheek as he pondered for a moment. "Hmm… what else…"

"Has anybody seen Cana?" Wakaba prompted. "We should get her to do a reading for us, she might be able to get an idea of whether everyone is safe."

"She's drunk, actually," Abigail announced. " _Again_."

Lucy glanced over her shoulder to where Abigail was pointing and saw that Cana was, indeed, slumped over a table behind the rest of the crowd, cross-eyed as she stared very hard at a knot in the wood. She frowned— this had to be the fifth or sixth time this week alone that Cana had drunk herself into a stupor. Cana was a pretty heavy drinker on any given day, sure, but this was a lot even for her. Even after their conversation— or at least an attempt at one— earlier in the week, she hadn't slowed up. Mirajane had said it was normal for Cana to be out of sorts this time of year, but Lucy sort of thought there was a difference between a bad mood and alcohol poisoning.

It seemed that she was the only one who was concerned, because Macao just sighed and Wakaba muttered, "Oh, right, it's December."

"Okay, we'll need another way to get current information on what's happening on the island," Macao said. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"I'm guessing calling Master Makarov's lacrima was a no-go?" Max asked.

Kinana shook her head. "I tried. No response."

"Warren?"

Warren shrugged. "I've only got a range of about five kilometers. Ten if I really push myself."

"Dammit!" Macao slammed a fist down on the table. "Do you mean to tell me that in this entire guild, one of the leading guilds in this country if not the continent, not _one single mage_ in this room has any ideas or any useful magic we can use in this situation?"

"Um…" Droy raised a hand. "I think Jet might be able to help."

Jet hissed at him to shut up and stepped on his foot.

"What do you mean?" Macao asked. "What can Jet do?"

"Ignore him," Jet said loudly. "He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"I do too!" Droy protested. "It's really cool, why don't you want them to know?"

"What are you talking about?" Macao demanded.

"Jet can run on water," Droy announced.

Jaws around the guild dropped.

" _Seriously?_ " Max asked incredulous. "That's sick as hell, dude."

Jet rubbed his neck with an abashed blush rising in his cheeks at the attention. "I've only done it once,' he deflected.

"That's pretty cool," Nab remarked.

"Well, that settles it," Macao said, slamming his clenched fist down on his open palm. "Jet, you're going to Tenrou Island!"

"W-What?"

"Think about it, it's perfect!" Macao exclaimed, clearly warming to the idea. "It's a three-day journey at least by ship to Tenrou, but you're much faster than any land or sea transportation. You can go in and scout, survey the situation, and report back while we're making our own travel arrangements."

"Now just one minute," Jet protested. "It's one thing for me to go zipping around on Basilwood Lake, but crossing the ocean is a whole 'nother story!"

"And on top of that," Mickey interjected, "does anyone actually know how to get to Tenrou Island? Like, isn't it supposed to be impossible to find or something?"

Macao's eyes went wide, and Lucy could feel her stomach drop. Nobody had mentioned that particular detail until now, but once Mickey pointed it out, she realized it was a very serious hindrance to their plans.

"I'll… see if we have any maps that show the island," Macao said weakly, indicating the door to the guild's library with a shaky jerk of his thumb.

Lucy sat down heavily on the nearest bench. She did not have a good feeling about this...

* * *

 **Author's Note part 2-** Thank you to kurahieiritr JIO for your lovely reviews, and thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited this story! We'd love to hear what you think, and we appreciate your readership enormously!

Standby for angst... ;)


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